Series 85176

District Court (Fifth District : Beaver County) Declarations of intention record books

Dates: i 1896-1940.

1.00 cubic foot and 3 microfilm reels

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Scope and Content

To become a citizen of the United States, an individual normally filed a "declaration of intention to become a citizen" at least two years prior to applying for citizenship. The next step was the naturalization hearing at which the candidate and witnesses either made oral statements or filed written petitions and affidavits attesting to the applicant's character, worthiness to become a citizen, and the validity of statements made to the court. If the judge found the applicant eligible to become a citizen, an oath was administered and the individual renounced his former citizenship. At this point a certificate of citizenship was issued documenting the fact. These volumes contain recorded copies of the declarations of individuals' intentions to later become United States citizens and to renounce current citizenship. The first forms contain little more than the declarant's name and native country, but forms after 1906 contain more detailed information about both the individual and his family.

The first volume contains preprinted forms created by the court. The forms contain blanks for the individual's name, sovereign, date, and signatures of the individual and the court clerk witnessing the statement. There are two typed copies of a new form from the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization glued into the back of the first volume which record entries for December 26, 1906, and for February 18, 1907. An additional entry made on the old forms for March 13, 1930 is marked obsolete.

The subsequent two volumes of forms were furnished to the court clerks by the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization of the Department of Commerce and Labor (later the Naturalization Service of the U.S. Dept. of Labor). Each volume was to be indexed and the declarations numbered consecutively beginning with number 1 in volume 1. Loose sheets were also furnished so the duplicate copy could be given to the declarant and the triplicate copy mailed to the Bureau of Naturalization. The forms contain blanks for the name and location of the court; the individual's name, age, occupation, color, complexion, height, weight, hair color, eye color, visible distinctive marks, birthplace, birthdate, and current residence; the location from which he emigrated to the United States and the vessel name; his last foreign residence; the name and title of the ruler to whom he would be renouncing allegiance; and the port and date of arrival in the United States.

By 1917, additional blanks were inserted to record his marital status, and if married, his wife's name (altered to "spouse's name" after 1922 when married women could seek citizenship on their own instead of automatically assuming the nationality of their husbands), birthplace and residence. He was to take an oath that he was not an anarchist or polygamist, and that it was his intention to become a United States citizen and make the country his permanent residence. Blanks were provided for his signature and for the date and signature of the court clerk who witnessed his oath. By the 1930s, more blanks were added for sex, race, present nationality; marriage date and place along with the spouse's birthdate and date and place of entrance to the United States; the number of children with their names, birthdate, birthplace, and residence; any previous declaration of intention, with number, location, and court; and his or her name at entry.

In 1941, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was moved to the U.S. Department of Justice. They also began limiting the number of courts hearing citizenship applications, and residents from Beaver county were henceforth to file in either Iron or Juab county district courts.

Arrangement

Chronological by filing date.

Related Records

Certificates of citizenship record books from the District Court (Fifth District : Beaver County), Series 26628, contains recorded copies of the declarations of individuals' intentions to later become United States citizens and to renounce current citizenship.

Declarations of intention record book from the District Court (Second District), Series 85174, include declarations of intention for Beaver County residents prior to 1896.

Naturalization record books from the District Court (Fifth District : Beaver County), Series 85177, contain final naturalizations issued by this same court to some of the same individuals whose declarations of intention are in this series.

Declarations of intention record books from the District Court (Fourth District : Juab County), Series 85224, may include declarations of intention for Beaver County residents who filed in Juab county after the 1941 mandate.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

Access Restrictions

This series is classified as Public.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Processing Note

Reel 1 was microfilmed by the LDS Genealogical Society in 1966. The other volumes were microfilmed at Southern Utah University under the direction of the State Archives in 2002. Archival processing was initially completed by A.C. Cone in 1989 and re-done in 2002 after the acquisition of additional film.

Finding Aids

Indexes: There is a name index at the beginning of each volume, alphabetized by the first letter of the individual's surname. Other: A Research Guide to Naturalization is also available.